Those are some of the findings of a study, led by Daniel B.
Hess, University at Buffalo associate professor in the Department
of Urban and Regional Planning, which examined a pilot program that
offered Metro Rail use to some UB students, faculty and staff for
20 months in 2011 and 2012.

A partnership funded by the Niagara Frontier Transportation
Authority (NFTA) and UB, the program provided participants free and
unlimited use of the 6.2-mile Metro Rail system, which includes
stops at the university’s South and Downtown campuses.

To qualify for the program, participants had to demonstrate a
UB-related need to travel between campuses or they had to live
within three-quarters of mile of a Metro Rail station.

The study, “Connections
Beyond Campus,” was funded by the University
Transportation Research Center at the City College of New York and
prepared in partnership with the UB Regional Institute. Co-authors
include Paul Ray, research assistant professor, and Nathan Attard,
an urban planning student and research assistant.

It states that 3,123 UB community members participated in the
program. Of that, 2,813 were students. The remaining 310 were
faculty and staff. The UB research team surveyed the participants,
of which 708 responded.

“Our analysis revealed some expected, as well as some
unexpected, results,” Hess said.

Perhaps most surprising is that slightly more than 10 percent of
the respondents, 72 people, indicated they ceased owning a vehicle
during the program. In doing so, they saved money by not having to
pay for vehicle maintenance, insurance and other costs. This led to
roughly $640,000 in combined annual savings for those participants,
the study states.

Among the study’s other findings:

25 percent of the respondents stated they did not own a vehicle
and delayed purchased a vehicle.

61 percent stated they walked and bicycled more.

69 percent stated they used Metro Rail to visit new places in
and around Buffalo.

At least 108 parking spaces at UB sat empty every weekday as a
result of participants riding the Metro Rail.

“The findings are significant because they show how a
transportation program affects human behavior. In this case, free
Metro Rail use led people to make healthier, more
environmentally-friendly decisions that improved the quality of
life in the city of Buffalo and its surrounding regions,”
Hess said.

Most respondents, 87 percent, indicated that they rode the Metro
Rail at least occasionally prior to the pilot program. Of those who
rode the transit system, 13 percent stated they purchased monthly
NFTA passes. Also, 42 percent of Metro Rail users did not have
access to a vehicle.

Monthly NFTA Metro passes, which include access to the
agency’s bus system, cost $75. However, the pilot program
included only the Metro Rail system.

UB paid NFTA $10 per semester for the student passes and $30 per
year for the faculty and staff passes. That totaled $70,990 for the
20-month program. (UB’s Parking and Transportation Services
provided that figure, which is based upon the fixed pass cost the
university paid to NFTA).

UB also cut service in half on the Blue Line, a bus route the
university runs between its South and Downtown campuses parallel to
the Metro Rail route. This resulted in $133,333 in savings. All
told, UB realized a net savings of $62,343, the study says.

Estimating NFTA’s costs are not as easy. The authority
utilized a “barrier-free fare collection” system and
does not have mechanisms in place, such as turnstiles or swipe
cards, to track individual participants. The researchers estimate
the program cost NFTA between $101,000 and $361,000 in foregone
revenue.

Participating students, and faculty and staff, meanwhile, saved
an average of $240 and $223 per semester, respectively, in pass and
fare payments that they otherwise would have paid to NFTA. For
students, the savings could help pay for their education, the study
states.

Ultimately, the study’s authors recommend that UB and NFTA
resurrect the program, and they offered several options to make it
affordable and more equitable. Among them:

Canceling UB’s Blue Line, which would help the university
save about $160,000 annually. This money, the study states, could
be applied to the program.

Charging UB students, faculty and staff per semester for a
Metro Rail pass. Determining a cost that works for UB and NFTA may
be the most difficult part of the process, the study states.